Kingdom Hearts: Concrete Hope
by AndrewWilliamConkey
Summary: In an alternate universe to the kingdom hearts games lies the story of a group of heroes, trying to prevent the worlds destruction... NOTE: This Story, while still considered a fanfiction, Is almost entirely original. It does not borrow characters or worlds from the Kingdom Hearts universe. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1 - One Cold Night

Chapter 1 - One Cold Night

Fresh snow lay on the ground, gentle flakes descended as if in slow motion towards the concrete roads and grass lawns. I walked down the empty street thinking to myself. Trying to distract myself from how cold it was.

But it was not a natural chill.

It was something that penetrates deep within you. It touches your soul. You can feel the pressure in your spine and in your abdomen. I suppose you could compare the feeling to a ghost passing right through you. Don't get me wrong though, it wasn't something that makes you shiver or your teeth chatter, it just gave you the chills. That being said, 37 degrees was quite warm out for winter when you think that most of the week before, the temperature was below freezing.

This chill like sensation originated from the thought of knowing that somewhere out here is a dark, vile presentence; A demon. Regardless how holding my keyblade at my side made me feel more secure, just the meer thought of the shadows in the dark gave me the chills. But I could not comprehend why. I have garnished much experience fighting them these past few years, so it was not a question of fearing the unknown. It affects you in a way that seems almost unexplainable, a seeping chill that no shield can deflect. It's painful. I wished I didn't have to remain here any longer, but it was my duty to find this demon.

I could imagine Hayden mentioning how ironic that would sound; me trying to justify something I can't explain. I would have returned the comment with a sarcastic glare…

I always thought of my friends when I was alone like this, fighting to protect my home. My friends could never help me with the burden I carry. They were all mortals.

"They can't know about people like me," I said with a sigh.

Hearing a twig snapping, I looked up and saw Cyrus coming my way. A slight smile rose to my face as I continued to speak under my breath, "At least Cyrus is here."

Cyrus was fairly tall, landing somewhere around 6 feet. He was not thin or fat, muscular or unathletic. His dark blonde hair seemed to always have cowlicks no matter how hard he tried to lay it flat. His rectangular orange tinted glasses gave him a serious "down to business" appearance, but his personality ranged from being a focused warrior to a class clown. When he was in one of those "moods" his smiles and facial expressions always had an over the top air to it. Cyrus has always referred to theses shadows by name, heartless, while I could only refer to them as demons.

We are tenants, keybarers. We keep the peace and everything we do a secret. We are able to protect people from the darkness that they don't even know that exists.

"Hey Adalia, guuuueeess what!?" Cyrus yelled, in an incredibly sarcastic, energetic voice.

"Mmm, what?" I replied, down playing his energetic tone.

"We get to go home! I took care of the heartless already," he yelled smiling and dancing wildly. His voice held a tone of ego as though he had just saved the entire world. I cracked a smile not being able to help it. Cyrus's acts of comedy were irresistible to smile at. He's such a dork and at the same time he is irrevocably efficient, I thought to myself. We both dismissed our keyblades.

"Ugg, thank goodness", I sighed as I scratched my head thinking to myself. "If we're all set I don't want to be out here anymore. I'm going to bed," I said in a slightly more somber tone turning homeward.

"Hey, are you alright?" He said, now in a serious tone.

I tried to form a smile as I turned back to look at him which ended up more like a smirk, "Yeah I'm fine," I lied. In truth I have been plagued lately by thoughts of being discovered as a tenant; a key bearer. I hated it the very thought of it. Imagining what my friends would have to go through if it were found out what I was, seemed nearly unfathomable. Well, nothing would happen to them; they wouldn't remember anything, like I was never a part of their lives to begin with. Or perhaps I'm just worried about myself, and worried that I would lose my grip on reality without my close friends. I was kind of lost in myself for a second, maybe even a little confused.

Cyrus observed me blanking out, "Damn girl, you need to stop spacing like that." He said with a smirk.

I said nothing and just smiled. Cyrus smile back, standing like a proud gladiator. He looked glad he successfully made me happy; causing a rift in the depressing mood that plagued me. He was damn good at that.

"You know, at least no one will ever find out you're a tenant," I said, "They'll just think you are insane, haha."

He folded his arms and said in a high pitched voice, "I'm not insane! I'm just a little tired!"

This last jest made both of us fall apart laughing. It felt good to just let loose, and simply laugh it out. I guess I have been a bit too worried about things lately. Well, I mean, if you were in my position you would too, wouldn't you?

I watched Cyrus wave to me good bye, and head off toward his home. He didn't live too far, but I often felt like he must have not wanted to be alone. Like he needed an audience for his over the top quirks. I thought for a second if maybe I should go with him so he didn't have to walk alone. I quickly I shook my head thought. He would be fine and I've got to stop worrying about absolutely everything. I turned around and started to head home. It would be nice to get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2 - A Day In The Life

**Chapter 2 - A Day In The Life**

I was just lying there; gaping at the ceiling. Thoughts were swimming through my mind. So many things were swimming through my mind that I couldn't control what to think of. So, I just let my mind wander, sinking into an ocean of thoughts. How much longer before we don't have to worry about the demons? What would happen if my friends were victimized by these creatures of the dark? Could I save them? Do I even have the ability to save them? Question after question drowned me in sub consciousness.

Abruptly, I was brought back into reality, ripped from the swirling tides by an unknown force. I finally start to realize the obtrusive sound of my alarm clock was disturbing the air. Snapping back to attention I leaned over to turn off the alarm. I took a few seconds to pull myself awake, let out a mild morning groan, and I pushed back my comforter and got out of bed. The bitter cold air swirled around me and quickly chilled me to the bone. My body jerked, wanting to get back under the covers. My nerves were trying to convince me that 'I have plenty of time I can sleep a little longer.' Meanwhile common sense told me not to. After a moment or two of dozing off in the middle of space I shook myself till I was alert again. I got dressed and got my things together for school.

To say the roads were bad would have been an understatement; they were horrible. I had started to snow the night before and as it always does in New England, the rain came right after. The result was a slippery but abrasive ice rink from hell. Several instances made me feel like I was going to lose control and crash. Just the thought of this sent a chill up my spine and terrified me. Seeing the wreckage of numerous car crashes on the way there didn't help my grip on serenity.

There was a bus at the first intersection I pulled up too. It was running pretty smoothly in the frigid conditions for the most part, and had just pulled up to a light. As I sat there beneath the red light, waiting for permission from the green judge to continue on my way towards school, a car lost control coming from the other direction. It ran smack dab into the bus's front bumper. Smoke rose from the accordion engine cover. I sighed and punched my steering wheel with my fist. I started to think thoughts like; "I am going to be late aren't I?"

When I finally pulled in the parking lot, which had barely any traction, I should have been 10 minutes late. However, when I walked through the front door I saw Séamus coming out of the main office. As he turned to walk down the hall toward homeroom he waved to me.

"Well, aren't you late?" he said mockingly with that usual grin of his.

"Yeah, well, so is half the school" I retorted, not appreciating the humor after the catastrophe on the road. I regretted making that statement as soon as it left my lips. Normally, things like this just don't bother me. I suppose it's just one of those days.

Laughing, he found humor in my attack while trying to ease the moment. "Whatever, homeroom is delayed anyways," he finally stated.

I breathed out, finally letting out a sigh of relief; first positive thing I've heard all day.

I had been late to school a few too many times lately and this was a nice reprieve from the usual. It hadn't been my fault. I was up late on 'demon patrols' with Cyrus, which were always at some ungodly hour. I didn't understand why they didn't just post someone who didn't have to be somewhere the next morning; it didn't make sense at all.

When Cyrus and I were sworn in as knights of the Union I didn't expect these kind of conditions. If there had been any warning that we would have to sleep only 3 hours a night, hunt for creatures that want to rob you of your very soul, and put up with all the laws that the Union set up I may have reconsidered. The laws were "to make things easier for all." I remember how Cyrus used to say it was just "easier for all the officers." This kind of comment from Cyrus about the Union was usually followed by a smirk. The thought of Cyrus's expression temporarily broke my mask and made me smile a little.

As I walked into class I was inducted into the hilarity that happens every day at school. Cyrus was running around with a standard ball point pen, like a member of Saturday Night Live, making outrageous claims like "holy freaking crap! I've got a super fancy pen!" Holly was at her desk already laughing into hysterics alongside Sahara watching Cyrus. Holly had blonde hair with low lights mainly in the front. She was a little short, but her usual up-beat nature never let you notice that. You could see her CDs sprawled across her desk including the likes of Underoath, The Killers and Muse. Since her headphones were plugged in you couldn't hear the blaring sound of guitars and the heavy vocals of Spencer Chamberlain which was always played on her computer. Sahara seemed a little shorter than holly even though they were probably close to the same height in real life. She wore an incredibly baggy sweater she borrowed from her boyfriend; it almost went to her knees. Upon her face she had glasses that magnified her eyes, making her look like some scientist with strange eyewear on.

"Where's Hayden, that slacker?" Mr. Young, our shop teacher, questioned.

Evangeline turned from her desk to reply "I was talking to him online yesterday; I think he's out sick."

Evangeline, or Eva as we usually called her seemed a lot calmer than the rest of the class, but to say she was more serious was a lie. She loved to laugh and be silly just as much as the rest of us. She had longer hair that curled ever so slightly around her face that gave her a gentle warm look, which completely matched her personality. Eva was kind of like our 'go to' person; she knew what to do in every situation. Whether it was guy problems, family problems, or just stress from school, she was always there to talk to.

"Hayden? Sick? That doesn't happen very often," said Sahara a little taken aback. "He seemed fine yesterday, or at least I thought he did."

"Hayden's sick?! What is this world coming too?!" belted Cyrus. He then proceeded to throw his pen like it had suddenly contracted some horrible disease in the direction of Séamus, hitting him in the chest. Séamus laughed as he picked up the pen.

"Cyrus, Settle down or I'll beat you with Sahara's arm," said Mr. Young. We all continued to laugh as Cyrus dragged his feet back to his desk on the other side of the room. Any of us could have finished Mr. Young's standard 'beat you with someone else's arm catch phrase'; it was habit for our teacher. The rest of the day flew by fairly quickly. Which consisted of laughing at Cyrus, going to Art, and still having heavy thoughts on my mind. This being the usual pattern a shop day flows. Mr. Young spent most of the day telling Cyrus to calm down, sit still, or go join the navy. During lunch we were 'spoken to' by "Salad Fingers" about being too loud in the lunch room, which of course was a problem Cyrus was at the route of. "go figure", I thought to myself with a smile.

"Salad Fingers" was a name Cyrus came up with, if I remember correctly. I guess he had seen her playing in the salad bowl with her hands and since he didn't like her at all the name was invented as a means of insult. So the code name or nickname "Salad Fingers" was born.

The bell rang and I was alert again. Once again I found myself zoning out, this time while waiting by the door for school to end. Reminiscing has been doing that to me lately, a bad habit on some levels I suppose.

I walked out the parking lot exit and started to half run towards my car. I didn't have to work my day job tonight so the first thing I was going to do when I got home was sleep. However, I did have an assignment with the Union tonight with Cyrus. As I jumped into my car and prepared for the dangerous ride home, I thought again about my friends and how I could protect them. "I would find a way", I told myself. "I would definitely find a way."

I had no idea, at the time, the unbelievable chain of events that would soon unfold before me like a deck of cards. All to see what hand I was dealt… and if I could do anything with it.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Dawn of Doubt

**Chapter 3 - The Dawn of Doubt **

It was cold tonight too.

Underneath the star-lit sky I waited for Cyrus to show up. The street lamps flickered while a cool breeze past. Most would say how lovely it is tonight, but not me. I didn't care how nice out it was. I still felt like something ominous was in the air whenever we had these 'missions', and of course, tonight we had something big to do. That didn't help my growing fear.

I went over the task in my head again; Commander Reck's words still fresh in my mind. Cyrus and I were informed to scope out Lake Alexander as there have been recent activities there; possibly something big.

"For people in the area to notice, it must have been something larger than just a normal shadow heartless," I had said earlier to Recks, confused about what our exact objective was.

"That is because the anomaly isn't a heartless," he responded with overpowering eye contact as he always did. "We believe someone is killing those waste-of-air demons, and we want to know why."

I shuddered at the memory. If there was one thing Recks was good at, it was making you feel like you shouldn't ask more questions then you were suppose to. His stern eyes and cold tone of voice perfectly matched his 'my way, or the highway' attitude. The way he looked and dressed, always in uniform, also contributed to his stinginess. His young appearance, most likely his late 20's, and short silver hair being the only friendly physical traits.

Thinking about the orders, it still didn't make much sense to me. If someone, or something, was slaying heartless why didn't we just let it? The extermination heartless is a good thing isn't it? I thought to myself some more, not quite understanding the purpose of the orders.

I closed my eyes trying to focus. "We're to dispose of, or capture this anomaly", I whispered into the crisp night hoping that maybe saying aloud might make more sense.

"I can understand trying to find out what it is, but killing it? Even capturing it doesn't make much sense", said Cyrus as he climb over the fence to join me. By his tone of voice I could tell he was carrying his serious attitude tonight.

"When does the union ever make sense?" I said with a smile lit by the light post I stood below, partly hoping to ignite some idiocy in him. I had to check whether he was thinking about the same thing I was thinking.

He put his hand on his chin and stared at the ground for a few moments. "They definitely have been making less and less sense recently. It's starting to weird me out," he concluded, not taking the bait. That was it. I could tell from his response that the orders were bothering him too. He doesn't stay serious unless he felt like he had a reason to.

We talked the whole way to the lake, discussing the union, what they could possibly be doing, and why they make such an order. The Union is an organization that assigns tenants, people who are aware of Kingdom Hearts existence, with keyblades to act as a defense against the heartless. They are involved with keeping the peace and making sure the mortals on this planet in the realm of light, which the mortals call earth, are blindfolded from the truth. What is the truth? That heartless are infesting the realms. The secret is the Union's answer of keeping the peace.

Cyrus and I continued to talk about what the thing were looking for might be. He also told me about his quarrel with that solider heartless from yesterday, a heartless with light armor. He made it sound like it was some great epic battle, in the end though he admitted that it only took three hits and couldn't have lasted more than a few moments.

"It was actually pretty easy, I didn't even have to use any of my skills", he continued, slightly breaking away from his serious tone.

Although he may not think it, Cyrus is damn strong, I thought to myself. The Union has recognized his ability several times, and has even tried to promote him on several occasions. Several think he may even hold the ability to best some of our Commanders. He has turned down every offer simply because he would no longer be on duty here in our home town. It made me feel good that he choose his friends and a normal life over the Union's higher ranks, but I felt like he was meant for something greater.

As we approached the lake the two of us suddenly stopped. We could hear something up ahead. I looked at Cyrus and he gave me a nod which said, 'Let's go investigate'. We crept to a spot on the shore behind some foliage. It was here that we witnessed the last half of the fight.

It was a battle between a Wyvern Heartless, a creature with large hand like wings, and what appeared to be a boy about Cyrus's and I's age completely cloaked from head to toe in a black garb.

I immediately noticed the boy in black was wielding a keyblade. I looked over at Cyrus with a shocked expression on my face and he looked back at me sharing the same look of confusion. His keyblade's appearance looked like it was made of sand stone, but it still looked very powerful. However, he was not using it directly against his foe. He would swing it and beckon forth a mighty wave of red sand towards the enemy. Using this technique, the boy in black didn't even need to be near his target to finish it off.

The wyvern climbed through the crisp night, trying to avoid the crimson mass pursuing it. The boy created a platform of sand before him and jumped onto it, riding it up. He glided up with much speed, rapidly approaching the unaware heartless. Finally, the wyvern looked back to check up on his attacker only to find out he was right behind him. It attempted to barrel-roll to the right, trying to avoid the pillar of red aimed at its back, but was too late. The sand pierced straight through it, making a mess of black smoke as the creature fell back to earth. Heartless always disintegrated in to black smoke like that.

As the wyvern dissolved and the heart captured by it freed into the night, the boy turned his head in the direction of Cyrus and I. We immediate ducked for a hiding place. I knew in he had seen us though.

"I know you are there, just come out here," the figure stated, in a familiar voice. I again looked at Cyrus, from where I was, for some sign of what to do next. He shook his head, showing an expression of 'what the hell' and started to stand up from his crouched position. We both walked out from behind our hiding places and jumped out onto the lake. Using our magic abilities we could walk on water, a common ability among keybarers. The boy used sand to produce a similar effect.

"Your voice," Cyrus said with a confused but shocked look on his face. "It sounds familiar." The boy twitched slightly, considering what to do next. After a short pause he leaped high into the air, a bunch of sand following him, and swung down. The sand carved its path through the night straight at Cyrus. While I jumped out of the way, He summoned his wind-element keyblade, Fenestron, and jumped toward the sand, charging it, and shouted AERO. He was quickly surrounded by a protective sphere of wind which easily deflected the deadly crimson wave. As the sand mass moved from his view, Cyrus realized the figure was no longer in front of him. Cyrus franticly looked around while still in flying through the air, searching for a hint of the black cloak. He activated the propeller on the end of his keyblade to whirl around just in time to deflect another wave. However, his inability to react quickly enough caused him to get sent flying backwards into the water.

I was already there, to keep the pressure up on the enemy, when Cyrus got launched. In retaliation I yelled DARK FIRE, which launched several spheres of black fire from the tip of my keyblade, Acoustic Shadow, towards the foe. Without even moving a muscle, sand came up around all sides of the foe absorbing the flames in a blanket of sand.

Cyrus and I both regrouped quickly as possible while the boy brought down his shield of sand. He looked at us both and we looked back at him. Bending his knees, he sprung into a spin of intense speed. He scattered sand around himself, effectively blinding us. We opened our eyes once the sand stopped whipping around to see that he had vanished, leaving us a little stunned. We stood on the lake, our jaws dropped, neither of us saying anything. We just stared in disbelief of what happened.

I turned to Cyrus trying to stay calm, "I think we need to talk to Recks about what happened". Listening to my words, but not looking at me, he nodded in approval.

Still staring at the empty space where the boy vanished, he said, "I have a meeting with Recks tomorrow anyway. I will deliver our report then."

"A meeting? What for?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow and folding my arms. I was slightly shocked Cyrus hadn't told me of this before.

Cyrus finally looked up at me with a frown and said, "Recks is trying to convince me to take that promotion again. I guess the Union is in desperate need of officers right now." He sounded a little depressed at the thought.

I nodded as I unfolded my arms and let a smile developed across my face. That is why he didn't want to talk about it before, because he didn't want it to happen in the first place. He was trying to just ignore the situation hoping it wouldn't happen.

Rain started to fall and we collected ourselves and went home. There was no way to pursue the combatant. Even if we could catch up with him I have a feeling we wouldn't be able to beat him or even question him. There was something impeccably odd with the lack of briefing we got in comparison to what we found. The Union was hiding something from us and Cyrus and I wanted to know what. So many questions popped into my head as me and my teammate parted ways. Who was the tenant in the black cape? Why would the Union want him dead, and not even tell us who he is? Wouldn't it be better for the mission if we knew more about what we were facing?

As I entered my bedroom, Matthias was already asleep. Matt, as most know him as, is my boyfriend that I live with. He used to be a keybarer sometime back, but know he just wants to live the life mortal, not wanting to worry the worries of tenants.

I set my alarm and slipped into bed next to him. I was far too sleepy to be worried about the problems and questions I had. I quickly dosed off with a smile as he wrapped his warm arms around me.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Heart

**Chapter 4 - The Heart**

Today was not off to a good start; I just wasn't in a good mood. Wondering how Cyrus was doing, remembering I had a math test today, and the hunger that washed over me just made me a bit grumpy this morning. I had that inevitable feeling in the pit of my stomach and I hated it.

"Adalia!" said a voice as I walked into the cafeteria. Ricardo was waving to me. I smiled as I walked over to him to say good morning. Ricardo, or Ricky as everyone called him, had to be one of the nicest people at this high school. He stood about 6 feet tall and had short brown hair. He had that type of sarcastic voice that you could recognize if you heard it around the corner. His personality was blooming as always.

"You ready for the math test today, Ricky?" I asked him, hoping he'd say something to make me feel better, like 'it'll be easy.'

"Oh snap. That's right we do have that today," Ricardo responded chuckling to himself. "Whatever, our teacher will probably forget about it anyway." He said changing the subject. "She would do that," I said with a smile. That was the type of answer I was hoping for.

Ricky thought for a second, smiling at me, and finally added, "Remember that one test we had last year? The one she told us like a hundred times to study for it, and then day we were supposed to have the test she completely forgot about it and taught us about poly-whatever instead."

"Oh my god I couldn't believe her!" I said, remembering the ridiculous event like it was yesterday. She really was a horrible teacher when it came to organizational skills. I stopped for a second holding back the urge to correct him and finally said, "They're polynomials by the way."

Before Ricardo could respond to my unnecessary correction, my stomach let out an obscenely large growl that everyone around us heard. I put a hand on my stomach hoping to help the feeling go away, but it never did. I made an unpleasant face and switched what leg I was putting my weight on trying make the feeling pass.

Ricardo raised his eyebrow. "You hungry? Let's go get some food." he said, and started walking to the breakfast line. My stomach rumbled again as I followed him to the line to get my breakfast. It felt like I was going to die if I didn't get some food to eat.

I almost didn't notice being tapped on the shoulder. As I turned around I spoke quickly and awkwardly, trying to make up for my delayed response. I was just way off today.

"Oh," I said a little surprised. Although he's Hayden's best friend he and I usually didn't talk that much. After a short pause I continued, "Hey Riley, have you seen Hayden recently?"

Riley was Irish, and you could tell by just looking at him. He had dark brown eyes, noticeably large eyebrows and short curly hair. He always was a little awkward talking to girls. I had always though he was just shy around females.

"No I was actually going to ask you that," he said a little taken aback. "For someone who isn't sick it's odd that he would be gone for so long." He had a puzzled expression on his face.

"I know what you mean. He hasn't been responding to anyone's texts either. Maybe he caught that flu that has been going around."

"Oh jeez, not the swine flu!" Riley said unable to hold back the laughter. I still wasn't so sure what was so funny about the name swine flu. "Well have you heard from Cyrus? He hasn't been exactly present everyday either."

I'd almost forgotten about Cyrus. He must have been nearly to Headquarters by now. I could only hope he was getting to the bottom of all this sticky business with the cloaked figure.

Cyrus sat with his arms folded as the train continued to move at full speed. The rumble of the cabin calmed his nerves and relaxed him. He had always loved these rides, just not the destination.

Headquarters for the Union was a disaster in his mind. Everything was concentrated on the goals set by the higher-ups, so soldiers like himself spent most of their time following the Union blindly. Most were okay with how that worked; they got their assignments, did them, and collected their paycheck at the end of the week. However, for someone like Cyrus who utilizes the Intel for the success of the mission it only drove him nuts.

Cyrus put his head back and sighed. He turned up his iPod louder to drown out his own thoughts. He smiled as one of his favorite Iron Maiden songs came on and slightly nodded his head back and forth to the beat.

It wasn't worth worrying about. Headquarters sucked, and there wasn't much he could do about it. He would be their soon and then he would deal with it, and finally get some answers.

I walked down the hallway to my locker to get stuff for my next class, with a smile on my face. The mathematics test class wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was sure I had aced it.

After I opened up my locker I looked down at my agenda and started flipping through the pages looking for my schedule. A sigh of relief washed over me as I saw what my last class of the day was; Philosophy. I grabbed my books from my locker and put them in my backpack.

The bell rang. "Oh crap, I'm going to be late…" I whispered under my breath. I put my backpack on and started walking down the hall.

I peeked into the classroom and saw our teacher writing on the whiteboard, and he appeared to be not paying attention to what was happening behind him. I tried to just walk to my desk and hope he wouldn't notice. I should have remembered that was always impossible. I held my breath as I walked across, trying to be nonexistent. I nearly jumped as I heard his low, carefully thought out voice echo through the classroom.

"Miss Curtis," he spoke without turning around. I knew this was going to end badly; he had a weird way of embarrassing people for being late in class. He turned around and motioned his hand toward my desk. "Please take a seat." I sat down and looked around; everyone else was copying down what he put on the whiteboard. I took out my notebook, and started doing the same.

Mr. Yarden paced back and forth a few times and finally turned to the class. "Today I want to discuss a very important element of all our lives; the heart." I finally took a normal breath; he wasn't going to make a spectacle of me this time. I must finally be getting on his good side.

Mr. Yarden "The heart is so important for two different reasons. It is important for our mind," He pointed to his head and then pointed to his chest, "and for our physical being. Can anyone give me a thought out definition to both these ideas and why they are so important?" He stood for a moment with his hands behind his back, scanning the classroom.

"No one? Alright. How about I pick someone then." I sank into my chair, because I knew all too well where this was going.

"Adalia." I sank deeper in my chair.

"Would you care to… shed some light on the subject?" He said slowly, and almost diabolically.

This is exactly what I meant by embarrassment. Mr. Yarden didn't directly confront us, he just liked to use us as sort of a scapegoat for being late. I almost envied his polished ability to make me cringe in my chair as I choked up, unable to form a response. Before I could say anything to completely throttle myself a hand raised behind me. Mr. Yarden almost ignored the boy for a second then finally turned toward the back of the class.

"Yes Riley?" he said curiously. I think he was just surprised as the rest of the classroom and I were. Riley never answered questions.

"In the physical sense," he began, "a heart is one of the several organs in our body that keeps us alive. Without it we would die. The heart is also a representation of our selves though; It is different for every person. However, it is generally accepted that someone with a strong heart has courage and has leadership traits." He thought for a second, deciding if he wanted to add anything. "Something like that."

Mr. Yarden smiled. "Very good Riley. Although there really is only one definition of the physical heart you have made if obvious you understand everyone is entitled to their own ideal of what the heart means from a physiological stand point. Well done."

I took another deep breath. Thank god Riley answered that, I would have been so off base answering that. I also liked what he said, because it reminded me of what General Sanders of the Union told us when we were assigned to EPD or Earth Protection Division.

"Lest we forget to follow our orders and the ideas of the Union, follow your hearts. Your heart is what defines your keyblade, and your heart defines your values. I hope that you all let your hearts be strong and brave."

The words rang crisp in my ear like it was yesterday. Sanders was one of the few people I actually looked up to in the Union. He almost felt like a grandfather to me, and I was sure others felt the same. I started to wonder if Cyrus was going to be able to see him while he was at Headquarters. Cyrus needs that right now. In fact, I think we all do.


	5. Chapter 5 - Dead Ends Lead to Resolve

**Chapter 5 - Dead Ends Lead to Resolve **

Cyrus couldn't help but be impressed every time he saw the capital. Just about everyone in the Union stationed somewhere else called it Headquarters, but the citizens here called it Arcadia.

It was truly a marvel. The tall, futuristic towers seemed to stretch for days across the horizon. Sections of Arcadia, city-islands, floated above the main ground making the city planet only seem more massive. It was impossible to be able to see anything even from the top of the highest structure. The huge city housed more than a million tenants, and contained the largest population of keybarers in history. Nearly 150,000 keybarers had sworn their oath and now live here in the city.

The artificial sun on the horizon was a marvel. It was created so you could still look at it without hurting your eyes, and most who saw it for the first time couldn't take their eyes off it. It rotated around the disc-like planet horizontally creating a perpetual twilight. Its colors ranged from orange to purple to green depending on the time of day.

As the train pulled into the station Cyrus took out his headphones and started carefully wrapping them up around his iPod. He was convinced if he always carefully put his iPod away then it would never break. Cyrus had never been to New York, but he was sure the train system here looked the same.

He would have loved to walk around the city and maybe visit a couple of the electronic stores in the area, but Cyrus had work to do. He pulled out his compad, a multipurpose electronic touch pad, and pulled up a holographic map that would direct him to the EPD building. The faster he could get there the easier this would be.

The glass automatic doors parted like a pair of phantoms; not making any noise. The EPD Hall was nearly all white marble making the room glow with light reflecting off all the walls. This wasn't all that uncommon of a feature at Headquarters. Most buildings in Arcadia featured these heavenly like interiors. Cyrus walked up to the reception desk a rather quick gait to his step.

"Hello Maggie," Cyrus said to the young looking female behind the counter.

"Welcome back Cyrus," she replied with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to see Commander Recks regarding a follow up and report," he said with authority. The receptionist smiled and turned to her computer. She clacked away at a few keys on her keyboard looking for Recks' location. She turned to Cyrus with a disappointing look.

"I'm afraid Commander Recks has left on a mission with RAU unit 312. Can I set up an appointment for you for when he returns?" she asked, trying to be helpful.

Cyrus's face grew hot and he curled and uncurled his sword hand. What the hell was he thinking? Cyrus thought. First he sends us on an assignment without enough backing information and now he leaves before I can even delivers my report.

"No thank you," he said through his teeth trying to be polite. "Can you arrange for an SMS message to be sent to me when he returns? It is imperative I see him in person."

"That I can do," she said smiling again. As I started to leave she stopped me. "Umm, excuse me Cyrus. I have just received a request for you to have an audience with the department head of EPD." He took a deep breath to calm himself and turned back to get the rest of the information. He knew exactly what the department head wanted. He couldn't deal with this right now.

Cyrus walked down the white corridor, making left and right turns until he came to the end of the large hallway. He walked through to two enormous marble double doors into a vaulted room. The small desk on the far side of the room, almost out of place in the giant-size space, was flanked by large gleaming white pillar. He walked with determination down the white and silver carpet toward the desk.

Department Head Thompson sat behind the mahogany furniture scribbling away on a piece of paper. He looked very stern and strict at a first glance, his hair was neatly trimmed and his uniform was flawless, however, his voice had a calm, peaceful nature to it. Cyrus stood at attention, waiting for him to look up, which he didn't.

"Mr. Fisher," he said crisply. "This Union has a defined set of laws and codes. These rules are put in place for the well being of us all. We have these laws to keep us safe and sound." he stopped writing and looked up at Cyrus, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Cyrus replied keeping his eyes fixed forward and not on Department Head Thompson's eyes.

The Department Head studied him for a second and went back to writing. "If so, why have you not registered a new member for your squad? You must realize all EPD squads are regulated to have three members."

"With all due respect Department Head, we operate fine with two," he retorted, trying to sound respectful and calm. "The Union can't handle adding a new member when it can barely keep the enemy at bay in our own territory. Besides, as far as I'm concerned there is no replacement for Jaffar."

The Department Head put his hand up to pause Cyrus from saying anymore. "Please, let us decide what is important," he said coolly. "If you really want a say in strategy why won't you accept a promotion? You are more than qualified for the rank of Captain." He went back to writing.

Cyrus finally made eye contact and calmly stated, "I don't want to leave my station. I'm happy where I am."

Department Head Thompson finished writing and folded his hands on the desk neatly. "Then follow your orders," he said simply. "You need to move on. Your old partner isn't a part of your team anymore." He looked at him in the eyes. He was clearly holding back anger; his eyes intensified with every word he spoke. His old partner was apparently a sore spot. He broke his eye contact with Cyrus and looked towards the doors. Cyrus turned around to see a young female about his age walk in and come to attention next to him.

"Déjà Dauphine reporting for duty," said the girl with a surprisingly strong voice. Physically she was around five feet, but you got a sense that she could stare you in the eye like she was at your height. All of her long brown hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail except for her bangs which lay hiding her forehead. She wore several medals perfectly aligned on her creaseless coat and had the large silver bar of a lieutenant on her right shoulder.

"Glad you could make it Lieutenant," said the Department Head. He turned toward Cyrus, "Let me make myself clear. I trust your judgment, but I strongly suggest you get a new partner. If you fail to complete this next assignment I have no problem sending in Déjà here to take over for you. She is more than capable for such an assignment."

Cyrus nodded to in understanding. "Permission to make a request?" he inquired.

"Go ahead," said the Department Head with curiosity.

"I'd like to request the temporary use of two Recon MkII's for the completion of this assignment," Cyrus completed.

Department Head Thompson smiled coyly, "Very well. If it will help you complete your assignment I'll see if the RAU department can spare a couple." Cyrus saluted and strode from the room.

Déjà looked puzzled. "Department Head, if I may ask, what is a Recon MkII?"

Department Head Thompson laughed a little. "It is interesting isn't it? The Recon MkII is a new series of specialized combat suits for spec op missions. Their helmets sport a new HUD system that allows SMS messaging and voice communication between the units as well as displaying Nav points." He chewed on his thumbnail for a moment in thought and continued, "It's curious though. They are still on the down low from public ears. The fact he knew about them shows he does his research."

I watched the clock. Five more seconds. I couldn't wait to get out. As soon as the bell rang I got out of my chair and started off toward my car. This had to be one of my favorite parts of the day; going home. I almost jumped when my cell phone went off in my pocket. Shouldering my backpack I pulled out my cell phone and read the message. It was from Cyrus:

I want to find out more about those 'cloaked figures' tonight since the Union is providing absolutely no answers what so ever; Commander Recks wasn't there. The good news is I was able to get something to give us an advantage tonight. See you at 2230.

I wondered what this 'advantage', as he put it, was while I put away my cell phone. I smiled to myself and started briskly picking up my pace to my car; Cyrus was finally taking charge and resolving the issue himself. Maybe he is finally becoming the leader I know he is. 


	6. Chapter 6 - Sleepless Night

**Chapter 6 - Sleepless Night **

Holly waived to Mr. Janis as she walked through the front door of Ellis Tech High. She walked down the side walk toward her bus. "Man I thought I was never going to going to get out of that class," she said. Talking to herself was one of Holly's many quirks.

Rummaging through her purse she found her iPod and put her ear buds in. She had just picked up Underoath's new album recently and wanted to listen to it constantly. A smile spread across her face as the first track came on. The wailing guitars and collaboration was such an escape. She walked in between two buses trying to get to her bus quickly.

Her cell phone vibrated. Looking down at the message she didn't see Riley running from the other direction. She ran smack dab into him and fell flat on her butt.

"Oh Jeez, I'm sorry Holly," he said apologetically as he helped her up. He left in a hurry and offered her no opportunity for a response.

"Sorry. That was really my-," she stopped, looking around and realizing he was gone already. "Okay. Never mind," she said confused. She started half walking half jogging to her bus. Holly had a tendency to try and escape uncomfortable situations, similar to what just happened.

She walked on her bus and sat down in a seat about halfway back. It was a relief that she didn't have to worry about sitting next to another kid on the bus, because there were only a few that lived as far away from the high school as she did. Her head rested gently against the window as she started to dose off.

"Holly, over here!" hollered a familiar voice. She spun around curiously to see Cyrus. He was standing over a blanket off in the distance with several other people laying and sitting on top of it. Three other blankets had even more people on them. As Holly approached the gathering, she recognized several of the faces. Sahara and Eva were busy talking and laughing, smiles across their faces. Riley and his younger brother Randy were making fun of Séamus as he tripped and fell on his way to their blanket, laughing the whole way down. They were all of Holly's friends, some of them from school. Some of the faces she hadn't seen since she was young, and a few that were no longer around but had come back just for this event.

A wave of happiness washed over her that nearly brought her to tears. Holly smiled as she greeted her friends, "Hey Cyrus! Adalia, you too," she said as she waived to both of them. Holly face was hurting from smiling so hard. She looked to her right and saw a face she hadn't seen in a several days.

"Psh, you're late!" said the familiar face. The boy sat between Riley and Adalia, his long legs bent and his arms folded on top of them. His sharp blue-green eyes and patented smirk the most enticing features on his face. His black spiky hair was shorter on the sides and gradually increased in length to the top of his head, giving him a sort of lazy mohawk, fauxhawk kind of style. He grinned at me as I smiled back at him.

"Hayden! I thought you were sick?" Holly said; glad to see him back in tip top shape.

He laughed, "You should know I bounce back quickly."

Two more boys, the first with long wavy hair and a little more size to him and the other with gauges and short spiky hair, sat behind Hayden. The second one focused on playing guitar while the other looked at Holly with a smile. "You got to love this summer sun huh?" said the first boy.

"It's amazing, Rayne", She said looking up at the cloudless sky. The occasional cloud passing by overhead caused shifting between shade and sunshine. This sequence was one of many things that made a truly perfect day. She transferred her gaze to the second boy playing the guitar. He was strumming a melody Holly recognized, but she couldn't place her finger on what it was.

"What song is that Saebein?" She asked. He looked up from his six-string, however, he still kept plucking away at the bronze strings.

"You don't recognize your own favorite acoustic song? I spent all day learning this," he said with a laugh.

Holly sat down next to Sahara and Eva and started to get into a deep conversation about everything Philosophical that they could ponder. Every once in a while Hayden would offer his opinion. It was all fantastic; the music from Saebein, all of her friends, she could stay here forever.

"Holly! We're at your stop," said one of the boys behind her, startling her. Her face flushed red as she quickly got together her things, and avoided eye contact with the other home bound students. She jumped out of her seat and quickly got off the bus.

She stopped as she watched the bus pull away, reallocating her thoughts back to her wonderful trance. She lived for those types of dreams, since they were her only means of escape from reality. It's not that she didn't like her own reality, but the sensation of being a part of another, different reality was marvelous. Dreams were the makings of her ecstasy.

She sighed and began walking to her front door. Now she had to complete her regular schedule, which consisted of getting a snack, and doing homework. After that she would ride her dirt bike with some friends like she normally does on once a week. Upon her return, dinner was her next task followed by a shower. Once this was all done she could return to her hallowed dreams.

The beeps and humming noises coming from Cyrus's computer filled the room. Cyrus sat in a computer chair with his arms crossed and his eyes fixated on the screen. He was looking for a heartless hot spot, a place where a large or many heartless suddenly show up.

Confused on how that was going to help us find the cloaked figures I finally spoke up. "What do heartless hot spots have to do with those people?" I inquired.

Cyrus turned to me, "I have a feeling that it wasn't a coincidence that the person we saw that night was fighting a heartless. His intentions may relate to the heartless that appear in this area." He turned back to his monitor with a frown. "It's only a guess though. I don't know for sure if this will work."

It made sense, but I still couldn't understand the Unions determination for the apprehending of this figure. The only viable law he was violating was not being registered with the Union as a keybarer. Sure, that was a rather large issue but not enough for the fuss that the Union was making. It was driving me crazy that we couldn't piece this together.

Cyrus turned to me again, "I can't shake the feeling that there is more than one of them. It's too odd that one rouge keybarer can't be caught."

I raised my eyebrow, "That makes sense and all, but you must have more to back that up. Did the Union say something?"

Cyrus rested his chin on his hand, "Sort of. When I was talking to Department Head Thompson he insinuated that there was more than just one cloaked figure. I can't shake the feeling they're not telling us everything they know."

I folded my arms, "We'll do you think it's just classified mater-"

I was cut off by a sudden alarm from the computer. Cyrus whirled in his seat, and started pinpointing the location.

"Danielson Airfield. Looks like its go time," he said as he hopped out of his seat. He walked to his closet and opened up the double doors revealing two large, black suits. "The left one is yours," he said as he started putting on equipment.

I was impressed with the level of technology installed in the suits. The material seemed to be similar to a wet suit but felt like it could deflect something powerful. I started to put it on. The fingerless gloves allowed complete movement of my fingers while still providing some protection for my hands.

"Once you get the helmet flick the switch behind your head," Cyrus told me. As I did the 'Smart' HUD, or heads-up display, came up with the hot spot visually detailed as a 'Nav' point 2.4 miles away.

"We're lucky it's close," I said into the com channel that connected our two helms. "Otherwise we might not get there completely in time."

"Yeah, we got to hurry. We don't know how long they'll stick around," he said with a rushed voice. We both finished gearing up and ran out the door.

Pressure. It built up to the point where holly couldn't stand it. She lurched forward waking up from her coma like slumber. Sweat dripped down her entire body and her arms trembled so much they ached. A thousand different pessimistic emotions shattered her illusion of security. Lying on the bed she writhed in pain that she didn't even understand.

As she started to regain control of herself she forced her legs to push herself back against the head board and grasped her bedpost, feeling like she had to hold onto something that was real. It felt like something was choking her and she couldn't speak or doing anything.

She finally forced out some words to make sure she was still awake. "What was that?" her voice cracked.

Finally regaining some form of composure she sat up and tried to rethink things, but failed. "I was asleep and dreaming, or was I?" she reflected. It doesn't make any sense. Why do I feel this way? What happened?

Holly sat in bed and asked herself questions for the better part of an hour, finding no answers or comfort. She resolved to stay awake for the rest of the night. She did not want to experience that sensation ever again. One thing was clear to her the illusion that dreams were her safe place to be was shattered.

Her bit her lip until it bled to keep in from trembling. She felt like she wasn't supposed to show any sign of fear. She didn't know why, but she did anyway. "God knows I'm the only person in the entire world that would have such trouble sleeping on such a quiet night like this." she held herself together as she sat trying to compose herself. 


	7. Chapter 7 - Underneath Stars and Skies

**Chapter 7 - Underneath Stars and Skies**

Randy's fingers flared over the colored buttons, in timing with the music that blasted throughout the room. Laughs came from his headset as his opponent knew he was winning. Normally whenever he loses, or if he finds he's not enjoying a game Randy will get really mad. Even to go as far as throwing his controller. However he was not upset. He wasn't even mad. A smile began to spread across his face.

He was waiting for the timing, the hardest part of the song was coming up, the solo, and he had been saving something. He lifted the neck of his guitar up in the air and suddenly all of his notes turned blue. He didn't miss a single note of the complicated pattern. His headset filled with grunts and groans as his opponent did not fair as well. Randy continued play the rest of the song without any trouble at all. These patterns he had played hundreds of times, it was nothing new to him. Again, his challenger seem to be cracking under the pressure, he knew he was now at a disadvantage.

Randy heard angry screams and the request for a "rematch". He denied the voices yelling in his headset and powered down his Xbox 360. Satisfied with his performance on Guitar Hero, Randy left his dark room and walked down the hall to join Riley in the living room. He was watching 'The Deadliest Warrior', a show about pitting two different people or groups from different times in history against each other to decide who was the deadliest warrior between them.

Randy leaned on the doorway, watching the show for a bit. He looked over at Riley, something catching his eye. He sighed and shook his head once he had realized what it was. "Riley, why are you still wearing that around your neck? You have no idea where it came from."

Riley turned to him and said defensively, "Dude it's not that big of a deal. It's not like anyone would want it anyway."

"Whatever," Randy said shaking his head. He turned and went back to his room.

Riley looked down at the key chain he had found and clipped onto a chain. It hung around his neck like he had always had it, like it was some family heirloom. He picked up the gold chain looking at the ornament attached to the bottom of it. He smiled as he thought to himself, "I still think it looks like the Mickey Mouse symbol."

The last heartless tried to crawl away, it's small black body aching as it tried to reach the portal that was only feet away. A boot came down upon it, surprising it only for a moment before it dissipated into a black mist and vanished. The boot came from a cloaked figured, covered from head to toe in black. He held two keyblades, one in each hand. Although they appeared to be identical it was only in style; one was blue and had a thin layer of water covering the surface of the blade, the other was wreathed in flames. He turned toward the black portal the creature was trying to escape into, which slowly shrank until it was no more.

"Looks like we got them all, right?", said another uniformly cloaked figure. He rest a long, blade-style keyblade on his shoulder, it's surface was crimson and matte black with a glassy sheen.

The first figured faced the other, "Yeah", he snickered. "That was a little easy. We only had to deal with regular shadows again." They both dismissed their keyblades.

The second frowned, "Weak or not, there were way more than should be allowed by a dark portal."

The first's grin faded, "Let's get back, Xero's going to want to know about this abundance of heartless." However, before he could begin to head towards their intended target he suddenly pointed toward something behind the second.

The second whirled around, but not fast enough; a trio of darkfire balls slammed into his chest and sent him flying.

The first quickly re-summoned his keyblades in time to block another trio heading for him. As smoke rose from his blades he watched two figures walk out into the grassy opening, their high tech suits illuminated under the moon. The grin returned to the first's face as he adjusted his stance.

The second stood up from the tree that had halted his flight and shook his head, "Well, so much for having an easy night."

A few moments of tension went by while the four beings circled each other quietly in the night. Adalia eyed both of their opponents; neither were the keyblader they ran into on their last encounter.

Cyrus's voice cracking over the intercom startled Adalia a bit. "You take the dual-blader, I'll take the other." he said simply.

Wasting no time, Cyrus moved like a green blur toward the longsword user. The rotor on his keyblade spun at an intense speed as he prepared to strike. Cyrus needed no element of surprise; he was almost always too quick for his enemy. The longblade user failed an attempt to block the strike which, once again, sent him hurtling through the forest. This time, however, he flew a lot farther. Cyrus followed him 'flying' from tree to tree.

Adalia now remained alone with her opponent. She quickly recounted in her mind all her options. She knew three techniques she could use at her advantage. **Darkfire** seems to not affect him as he is both a fire user as well as a water user. She took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to use my newer techniques," she thought. The other figured waited in his stance for a moment, and then stood up at his full height. Laughing he removed his hood.

He had short hair messy hair that and his facial hair looked a little scruffy. His voice had a bit of a lisp that made him seem not so bright. His eyes, however, gave him a cunning, highly intelligent look.

He smirked, "You look surprised. I don't like fighting with my hood on."

Adalia studied him for a moment. She thought back to the special she had seen on the news about the "Disappearing Teens" in her home town. She started to have a bad feeling about this fight.

Farther into the woods, Cyrus fought the other keybarer. He too, had removed his hood. He had short, dark hair, and his ears had gauges. Cyrus knew who he was, but neither of them spoke a word to one another as they fought.

The cloaked figure and Cyrus were evenly matched.

Cyrus was everywhere, and he was just fast, his keyblade strikes were powered by the rotor at the end of his blade, making each swing feel like getting hit by a truck.

After blocking several blows in the air, the cloaked figured spun several times before planting his feet on the ground. Cyrus landed just before him. He closed his eyes for a moment. "He can block all of my blows, despite how strong they are. Sure, he hasn't tried to hit me, but if the battle keeps going like this I'm going to get worn out".

Cyrus opened his eyes once more and finally broke the silence between them. "Sorry Saebein, I can't hold back. **Tempest Storm.**" As he spoke those words he swung his keyblade wildly. Wind from everywhere around him erupted before him and honed full-force towards Saebein. Saebein froze as the titanic amount of wind energy rushed toward him. He _knew _he wouldn't be able to block this from hitting him. He put his arms over his head waiting for the impact... But it never came. He waited for a few moments, as he started to hear a humming sound. He looked up to see a half-sphere made up of hexagonal plates before him. Dark energy.

Cyrus look before him, stunned that Saebein still stood. He knew what had blocked it, **Dark Shield,** An extremely high level dark magic. He suspected Adalia for moment, but knew her abilities with dark magic hadn't reached that level yet. She could not have cast it. Cyrus felt an uneasy feeling start to ripple over him. The air around him started to feel thick and intoxicating, and gravity felt like it had tripled in strength, making it hard to stand. In the shadows behind Saebein he saw a third cloaked figured, a dark purple aura cover him.

Adalia was covered in cuts and lacerations. Some caused by a blade of water, others by a fire whip; her opponent was a mid range fighter. He used water-element to extend the range of his water keyblade, and he could use his fire-element to create a whip from the tip of his other blade.

Her second technique **Dark Flare**, a large fireball as apposed to the trio **Dark Fire** produced, was just as useless as her first one; her opponent was immune to fire-elemental attacks, darkness infused within it or not. She only had one last option.

She ducked as another swing of his now extend water blade move past where her neck once was. However, before she could realize it his fire whip was already inches from her side. It seared into her waist as it made contact. She cursed as she jump backwards, narrowly avoiding the whip wrapping around her. Trapping her.

Her face contorted, "Why is he helping these people? Why is he a keybarer and no one know about it?" She thought to herself. his smirk died down into a concerned frown as he approached her.

"Adalia," he said. "I'm not your enemy, regardless of what the Union says."

She raised her eyebrow, "How do you know my name?"

"I need to know my allies, I've studied up on the EPD squads for this sector. Also, you may call me Deparpment Head."

Her teeth clenched. "I don't need to know your name. Just tell my why the Union suspects you of being a threat to them."

"We aren't. In fact I'd say both the union and us have very similar ideals!" He said with a positive attitude.

"Then why the hell do they want you dead so badly?!" She screamed. "If your helping us why do they keep everything a secret about your group and just tell us to quietly destroy you?!" She stared maddeningly at him. He stopped walking toward her, but he did not respond. His eyes told her that she was not ready to know yet.

Adalia couldn't restrain herself anymore, she was tired of being kept in the dark. "Ally or not I'm going to beat the shit out of you 'until you tell me whats going on." She stood up and took a deep breath in. A dark aura began to develop around her, coating the surface of her body. "**Dark Tempo**," she said in a voice that rippled through the night.

She blurred from view, warping, and before Gab had enough time to raise his eyebrow in confusion her keyblade met his ribs. He heard them crack as he was sent grinding across the surface of the dirt. She started to sprint toward him again, not letting him get a chance to gather himself.

"**Water Blade**", he shouted trying to hit her before she got too close again. She rose her arm and let the blade sink into the back of her hand, she did not flinch nor slow down. Again, she arced the blade at him, this time at his head. He blocked with his shoulder, but not soon enough. He was once again flung across the moonlit grounds. Blood trickled from the point of impact on his upper arm, it throbbed with pain. Before he could get up off the ground, she warped again right on top of him this time holding her blade in both hands up high, with the blade pointing down, at his throat. Her eyes glowed with the same dark aura that pulsed around her body. He could see the killing intent in her eyes. He laid paralyzed in an almost seizure like state.

And like that it was over. Before she could bring the blade down upon him the aura, and her incredible speed and power disappeared. The anger and killing intent that once filled her eyes was replaced with exhaustion. She collapsed backwards. Gab did not dare move for what seemed like minutes. Still paralyzed at the sudden change that her friend had taken. Adalia looked up at the sky, breathing heavly. She couldn't maintain **Dark Tempo** for longer than 60 seconds, and once it faded it left it's user near motionless. A figured appear over her, but it wasn't Gab.

A voice cracked over her intercom, "Come on, were leaving for now" Said Cyrus picking her up with one arm. Adalia could hear him talking to what sounded like Deparpment Head Thompson. As she watch the tree tops blur by, she tried to listen to what they were saying. She couldn't make out much, but understood enough to get the gist of the conversation.

Cyrus, quite possibly one of the most powerful fighters in the Union, was calling for back up.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Rookie

**Chapter 8 - The Rookie**

The humming sound of generators could be heard down the hallway as Commander Recks walked at a brisk pace, sporting a Recon MKII suit, sans helmet, toward hanger 06. He held a PDA in one hand, containing several files he had requested from Maggie. He looked up from the file he was reading and greeted mechanical sound with a smile. He enjoyed the sound the hanger made; it was a sound of a new mission.

He double checked everything in his head; his two 'hawks', air transport vehicles often used for quick drop missions, were all prepared and armed, all personnel of Recon Airborne Unit 312 had been issued Recon MK II combat suits, and everyone within the unit was on deck preparing for departure. Well, almost everyone.

Commander Recks looked back down at his PDA and continued reading. On the latest mission his unit, RAU 312, several of the members had been KIA. The details that flashed across his screen was the information of the members that would be replacing them. He has been worried that his unit would be weakened, it had always been famed for being one of the best tactical units in the armed forces branch of Arcadia, and unfortunately for the most part, he was right, some of his new recruits were barely qualified, some of them reported feeling "uneasy" about a division that had a 30% mortality rate, which had earned the members of the branch the nickname 'Death-Troopers' However, as he flipped through the files he saw hope. His eyes settled the details of the last incoming member... who was more than just _qualified_ for the RAU.

In his previous position as a EPD, Earthen Protection and Defense, member, he had racked up more confirmed kills than anyone else in his entire sector, and was in the top 5% for highest mission completion percentage.

Something however, caught his eye. Between the time he finished his time in the EPD and today, his first day on the job with the RAU, was nearly a year. This troubled him greatly. Maggie, the one who compiled all this information for him, left nothing out including this odd gap.

The Commander of the EPD branch didn't want to let him go and had kept him under his branch for far longer than necessary. "The Rookie" apparently was too powerful to let go of and was used as the Commanders 'personal grim reaper' according to Maggie. Commander Recks smiled. This "Rookie" was going to be more than just an asset to his team.

It was easy to tell the new members from the old. Veterans of the group had all their gear lined up and prepared to be put on the Hawks. Some of them spared with one another, the steel reverberations from their keyblades echoed throughout the room. A few others were getting acquainted with their new Recon MKII suits, testing the waypoints that they produced and making sure the com links were up and running. The last two veterans were practicing fire-element magic, one was teaching the other how to increase the efficiency of his **Fira.**

However as Commander Recks turned to face the rest of the crew his prideful smile was torn down and replaced with disappointment. The new members were all close to one another, checking and rechecking their packs, afraid of not remembering to pack vital items. Their faces were pale, and they all looked nervous. He sighed, he could be angry but hell they had a tough job now. Commander Recks was a hard-ass, but knew what these new people were about to go through.

Commander Recks halted as his eyes began to scan the room. Where is that "Rookie" he was reading about? Surely he couldn't be one of these nervous newbies. Looking at the bags the veterans had lined up he saw a extra pack. "So he is here but where?" he thought. He finally turned in the direction most of the infantry were looking in, toward the stacks of fuel used to power the Hawks, and what he saw made him close his eyes and sigh deeply.

"The Rookie" was already clad in his Recon MKII and ready to go, and wasn't nervous that was for sure. He was relaxed, a little _too _relaxed. In fact, he sat on the floor, his head resting on the fuel barrels. It was hard to tell right away with his helmet on, but after a moment Recks heard something... snoring.

Commander Recks marched over to him and gave him a quick jab in the ribs.

"The Rookie" awoke with a startle; he had felt someone's boot make contact with his side. He looked up at the man in front of him. "He looks mad, what's his beef?" He thought to himself. He brought up his "Name Tags" system which displayed who everyone around him was and whether they were a friendly or an enemy. A name popped up on his Heads-Up-Display, marking the individual as a friendly. It was labeled 'CC Recks'.

The recruit cracked a smile to himself and clicked off the system. "Great first impression" he thought to himself.

"Get up off your ass Rookie", Recks yelled with authority, startling the other new recruits who had yet to meet there new commanding officer. Both them and the veterans turned their attention to the situation with curiosity.

"The Rookie" got up quickly, stood at attention, and fired off a quick salute. "and why is your visor tinted? You got something against getting acquainted with your fellow RAU members? You may have been working solo for the past several months but you are a part of a team now".

The Rookie glanced over at the rest of the unit and then turned back to Recks, "I don't believe in making friends with a bunch of dead bodies, sir." he said with the utmost seriousness as he stood, still at attention. This remark did not sit well with the new recruits as the looked at one another, the fear in their eyes growing. Several of the veterans, however, seem satisfied with this rookies point of view.

Recks studied the boy for a moment, he seemed a too little scrawny and thin to be the one in his report. For a moment he wondered if he had the wrong recruit pegged as the one with the most potential, but quickly dismissed that thought as he remembered the look the other recruits shared on their faces.

He maintained eye contact with the rookies visor for another second then turned to face the rest of his recruits. "Gather up death-troopers, time to get this show on the road," He commanded, his voice booming. Everyone, including the recruits and the rookie gathered together, waiting for Recks to speak. Recks slipped his PDA into the hard-case on the side of his right thigh and began to speak.

"Today we've got some new faces, and some old ones. Now I don't care if this is your first drop with us, or if you've been to hell and back already a few times. I am the Commander of this entire branch, not your regular CO. If you freeze up when we encounter tangos I'll make sure to run my blade through you as well as the enemy. We're not pansy ass guardians of the earth. The defend their positions and wait for trouble, which usually consists of a few damn scouts. We will be jumping first feet into a hell zone; a confirmed enemy base which we believe contains two individuals that lead a battalion of heartless."

He looked back and forth at his RAU, taking in the mix of fear and anticipation. His voice changed from serious to prideful and a slight smile broke the tension of his stone face. "Tonight, bring the fight to the enemy!" he said triumphantly. A few veterans cheered and fist pumped in the air, some of the nervous faces started to feel a bit more at ease. "This is how we start a war, by crippling them here and now. We do this and they will not be able to attack Arcadia for a great deal of time. With tonight's mission a success we will guarantee ourselves both protection and a foothold into heartless territory."

He turned his attention to the recruits and smiled, "Don't worry rookies, your working with the best of the best, if you die, it will not be because you were overwhelmed by the enemy." He put on his helmet and took in the soldiers before him. The mood had changed from cold and nervousness to excitement and prideful. Just what he wanted, you can't fight when you're scared shit-less. "Okay death-troopers, get to your birds; time to move out!"

The wind whistled by as the two Hawks flew through the black night. The unit had been split into two different groups; each drop ship contained half of them. The Rookie sat with his 12 members of his team in the back of his Hawk along with the pilot and Commander Recks. The veteran sitting across from The Rookie who, while inspecting his keyblade, had glanced up at him several times, looking as though as if he wanted to ask something but didn't.

The Rookie's helmet beeped and whistle a few times as his Name-Tag system came online. "You got something to say, Corporal?" his voice inquired of the intercom, a little irritated.

The veteran, looking a little angry, responded over the intercom, "What's with your lack of respect for your fellow RAU members? Calling us dead bodies and having your tint always on like that. I don't care what you did before you came here and I really could careless about your rank, we act as one here. You better get used to that."

The Rookie maintained eye-contact for a moment. A small beep was heard and the tint on his helmet was disengaged, revealing two calm blue eyes. "Fair enough. I'm not telling you I don't care about anyone of you. The more of us that make it back from this hell pit the better. I'm just not big on friendship."

The Corporal smiled at him, "That's good. I was starting to wonder if you didn't have a personality at all. Friendship isn't key here, but covering each other's backs is. If you can do that then you're all set."

The Rookie nodded his head in approval and reactivated the tint on his visor hiding his face. "I use tint because I like to think it's more intimidating to the enemy. You can't fight an enemy if you don't go in thinking you're going to kick their ass."

Several of his teammates chuckled and smiled. The Corporal looked at him for a second, no longer looking down on him. "Well said Rookie", he responded. And proceeded to also putting on his tint.

Commander Recks who had been up next to the pilot's seat, navigating for him, had been listening to the conversation chimed in. "You are all team members and I respect that, ranks don't define who is better than one another. _However,_ Corporal Simmons, that "Rookie" is a Lieutenant and should be addressed as such."

Everyone seemed to suddenly sit a little straighter at that remark. Corporal Simmon's voice cracked over the intercom. "Err, well said Lieutenant... sir." The Rookie smirked a little behind his visor.

He quickly twisted his head to the right. Something had interrupted the otherwise completely black sky and the adjacent dropship out the right side of the Hawk. The rest of the team was also looking out the same side, they had noticed it as well. The Rookie stared out the open door, waiting for something to come into view.

Then he saw it. Two flying purple creatures approach the other dropship at a high speed and tear through it's wings.

"Mayday! Mayday!" screamed the pilot as the ship began to plummet to the ground, a plume of smoke trailing behind it.

"We got wyverns approaching us!" screamed Recks over the intercom. "Rookie, Simmons, get on those turrets!" The Rookie jumped from his seat and took hold of the vertical, parallel steel handles that guided the turret. He pulled both triggers, causing the charge to build up in the chamber. It began to release cracks of it's lighting-element ammo in the direction of the wyvern heartless. Two of his teammates began firing volleys of **Fira** over his shoulder in an attempt to help take down the swarm getting ever closer towards them. Several of them fell, their burning corpses falling from the skies.

But there were far too many of them to shoot down, and they were getting closer, and closer to the remaining dropship...


	9. Chapter 9 - The Rookie II

**Chapter 9 – The Rookie, Part 2**

The Rookie's head throbbed as he came to. It felt like it was going to split. He took a deep breath and started to assess himself with a mental checklist.

"Head feels shitty", he thought as he moved his head from side to side. "But otherwise okay." twitched his fingers, then his elbow, then his legs, quickly checking things off in his mind. "All clear" he thought.

He opened his eyes.

Stars shone down from overhead as he lifted himself to his feet. He checked his perimeter for immediate hostiles or friendlies.

...

Nothing.

He frowned, "I must have fallen out of the Hawk while we received contact from the wyverns." He flipped on his HUD and ran a system check to make sure everything was in working order. A new way-point, bravo, came up 2 clicks east of his position. "No doubt coordinates sent from the Commander." He started to double time in that direction.

He saw several bodies lying around the small crash site up ahead; he slowed down to a brisk walk and began to rendezvous with the remaining members. Corporal Simmons looked up from placing explosives to greet The Rookie, "Lieutenant! I'm surprised; I thought we lost you sir."

"I'm fine", he responded. "What's the status of Hawk one and two?"

"Both were taken down, the Commander and PFC Holland went to go recon the other aircraft to check for survivors and supplies. We've contacted Hotel Actual and requested immediate support. We've got 3 wounded," he paused for a moment, "and 7 KIA here, including the pilot. It's a miracle any of us survived really."

The Rookie frowned. He tapped his com button, "Hotel 1 this is Hotel 2, what's the status on that bird, over."

A little bit of static then Reck's voice cracked through, "Lieutenant? Welcome back, Hawk two has been shot down and there are no survivors, I say again, confirmed KIA of all personnel on board, over."

The Rookie cursed under his breath, "I suggest we rally and try to complete the mission anyway, we can still finish the primary objective, over"

Simmons's head snapped up took look at The Rookie, his face pale face clearly visible through his visor. "Are you kidding me? There's no WAY we can take out a battalion level enemy with just 4 keybarers. I don't care how strong you think you are."

The Rookie ignored him, waiting for a response. He was answered by a new way-point on his HUD. "That was always the plan Lieutenant, glad to see you're on board. I'll see you at way-point Charlie in 5, Hotel 1 out," cracked Recks's voice.

The Rookie smiled. "I like how this guy thinks," he thought to himself. "Alright Corporal, I know you don't feel like this is a good idea, but you heard the Commander. Don't worry, I'll cover your ass."

Simmons stared at the ground for a moment his expression like stone. He lifted his hand to his control panel and flipped on his Tint. "A-alright. I'll follow your lead."

The Rookie nodded, turned in the direction of the waypoint on his HUD, and took off running. Corporal followed closely behind him.

"God damn," The Rookie said as he started scanning the area. The heartless scouts that patrolled this area were of a high level compared to what he was used to. "This is gonna be a tough night." He continued to scroll through the data on his HUD while still running for the new waypoint. He flipped through the different types of heartless out here; Wyverns seemed to be the most common of them. The Rookie frowned.

He thought for a moment then pushed the button his neck that would activate his radio. "Commander, I'm reading up on the data we got prior to the mission... why did we come in on hawks when these areas are patrolled by so many aerial units?"

There was a short pause of static and he responded, "Time. We were aware of the danger, but the keyblade users of the RAU are not concerned with danger. Our priority is always to the mission."

The Rookie understood and respected the answer to his question. It made him a little more calm knowing what had happened was not simply due to carelessness.

"How close are you?" Recks inquired.

The Rookie keyed his radio, "Very close... wait, I can see you and Holland up ahead, sir. We'll be with you shortly, Hotel 2 out".

The Rookie slowed to a jog as he and Cpl Simmons arrived at the location. He looked the commander and Holland up and down. Holland was covered in cuts, bleeding from his right leg, and altogether just a little roughed up. Both he and Simmons were the same way. He himself had taken less damage than the other two but still had his fair share of issues. His visor was cracked very slightly along the left side, little things like that. Commander Recks however...

…did not have even a scratch on him.

Nothing on his suit was out of place; his helmet looked like it had just been pulled of the assembly line. The Rookie was in awe. He had heard rumors of just how strong he was, but to avoid being injured or even being touched at all seemed unfathomable.

The Rookie started a subsystem on his HUD to look up the abilities of his Commander and find out his strengths.

"Alright listen up," Recks said, getting everyone's attention. "This is the game plan. Tonight we're going to rest; we'll set up posts that change every two hours and at dawn we'll move toward the predestinated location." He studied the three of them for a moment and continued, "We're changing tactics, our original plan was a primary objective and a secondary objective. We will now be only doing the primary; taking out the two enemy leaders. Once this is done they will be scattered and confused, we slip out of the base as quietly as possible, and get back to mainside before anyone knows what hit them."

"We WILL buy Arcadia time to prepare for the coming storm." he said triumphantly. "Alright, I'll take first watch, you three get some sleep."

It relieved The Rookie that Simmons and Holland seemed to be a little more confident with the task at hand. He laid down looking up at the sky and closed his eyes, and tried to get some sleep.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Rookie III

**Chapter 10 - The Rookie, Part 3**

The Rookie sat up, giving up on trying to sleep. He could never catch a wink on missions, it was just too tense. He glanced over at Holland and Simmons, both of them completely passed out. He smiled, "they'll need the rest for tomorrow", he thought to himself.

The memory of the heartless came into his mind. His smile slid from his face, revealing a concerned look. "The heartless here are much stronger than what I had read. These two are going to need to be protected quite a bit, tomorrow."

He paused a moment, and then stood up. He grabbed his helmet and put it back on, his long brown hair sticking out in the back. He didn't bother shoving it into his helmet like before. Appearance wasn't his first concern here

He closed his eyes and put his right hand out in front of himself, as if to reach out and grab something. He took a deep breath and focused. Sparks started to dance down his arm violently. If not controlled they would go wild. They started to collect in the palm of his hand, and the light intensified until it became of sphere of dancing lighting. He opened his eyes and clasped the ball in his hand crushing it. It took the form of a keyblade. "Spark Ripper" it was called. He thought lightning represented him well; a wild energy, hard to control, but deadly if focused and maintained.

He looked up at where Recks was perched, feet dangling over the cliff side, watching for movement. The Rookie climbed up to where he was and started to approach him.

Recks turned to look at him, "So you're a thunder type? That's rare to see these days"

"There's not many of us left. Most of the clans that used thunder have already been wiped out," The Rookie responded, staring off into space, as if he had just remembered something.

Recks, not liking where the tone of the conversation was going switched subjects. "What level is your keyblade?"

The Rookie shot him a surprised look, "Still V-1, I've had trouble finding a master in order to learn the advanced techniques."

Recks smirked. "I thought so," he said turning his head back in the direction of the cliff.

A long silence passed as the two warriors sat thinking about the mission, where they had been, and what was soon to come. The Rookie started to think about what he was going to do when he got back. He only need to do one mission with this RAU unit and he could be reassigned. The RAU would begin to cycle newly trained RAU units into the squad instead of a substitute like himself. Even more so, he didn't have to return to his old duty... being the EPD Branch Commander's lapdog. He hated it so much. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

"Sir, what's the possibility of me returning to a team in the EPD?" He asked with vigor.

Recks was taken aback, "You want to go BACK to working for the EPD Commander?"

"Oh, HELL no," said The Rookie said abruptly. "I used to be on an actually team down on earth, a group of three. I've heard that transferring back to a team is hard, especially if there are no open spots in any of the squadrons."

"Ah," said Recks, "Now that makes a little more sense. Yes, it's very unlikely that you could be able to-"

He stopped mid sentence, a light bulb going off in his head. "Tell you what, if we complete this mission I'll see what I can do. I believe there is a team that still only had two members on it. And it falls under my jurisdiction."

"Thank you, sir." He said trying to contain his excitement. He had always looked forward to the day he could go back to earth... it had been far too long. Another 10 minutes or so of silence passed, both of them wrapped in thoughts of what they were going to do when they got back.

Recks looked at his time clock.

0320

"Lieutenant, do me a favor and go wake up Holland to switch out with me. It's his turn for post." Recks said to the Rookie. The Rookie stood up and started heading back down to the campsite.

"No problem, sir. See you in th-"

"And do yourself a favor, and get some sleep," Recks said with out looking back at him. "You're definitely going to need it for tomorrow."

"Will do, sir," he continued to head down to the sleeping RAU fighters. He shook PFC Holland, but he didn't budge. He shook him again this time with vigor. "Man this guy is out cold," he said raising an eyebrow. The Rookie shook his head, knowing there was only one way this guy was going to wake up. He tapped him with the side of his keyblade sending a small jolt of electricity through his shoulder.

"HOLY SHIT," He said nearly jumping out his skin. He drew his keyblade and sent a **Fire** at the stone wall in front of him. He stared at the burn mark he made, his expression full of panic. He looked up at The Rookie who stood over him, "The hell lieutenant! I know I'm a heavy sleeper bu-"

"Hey your shifts up, got up there and replace the Commander. You sleep alright?" He asked.

"Horrible." he said as he got himself on his feet, finally relaxing a bit. "Just like it's supposed to be in the field, sir," he said with a smile. "Good night, see you in the morning Lieutenant."

The Rookie watched him walk away then eased himself to the ground. He rested his head, his head still buzzing with the thought of heading back to earth. Sleep finally took him as his heavy eyelids closed.


	11. Chapter 11 - Return to Arcadia

**Chapter 11 – The Rookie, Part 4 / Return to Arcadia**

Cyrus read the letter for what seemed like the 100th time...

FM UNION, MILSPECWARCOM/

TO EPD SQD 0137/

D

TYPE: GEN ORDERS /

EFFECTIVE: Immediate

1: EPD SQD 0137th will stand detached from their current post and will be replaced by REV EPD SQD 047.

2: You will report to GNDMSTR/UNIGEN Sanders ASAP.

MESSAGE CODE: MIL-EPD-152-46 /

END OF LINE /

He couldn't understand it. He requests back up and they replace Adalia and himself with a reserve squad, and have them sent back to HQ? Cyrus considered a few times the possibility of ignoring his orders...

"You will report to GNDMSTR/UNIGEN Sanders..."

No way. There was no way he could no follow through with his orders when he has an audience with the Grand Master of the Keyblade Union... just the chance to meet him in person would be astounding.

Cyrus closed out of the message and put his phone back in his pocket. He looked around at his room and started to make a mental note of what he would need and wouldn't need. "Who knows how long Adalia and I are going to be in Arcadia. I'll need to pack almost everything I guess," he said to himself.

His phone went off again, this time from Adalia.

Hey, we have a falcon to take us to the station. Dusts off in 30 minutes.

A bead of sweat dripped down Cyrus's forehead. He stood still staring at a moment while staring at the message.

Suddenly he tossed his phone behind him and started tearing through his belongings like a maniac. "What the hell! I've got like no time to pack all my stuff!" He said slightly crazed.

The train rolled down the tracks as it snaked through the mountains. Its destination; Arcadia, and hopefully with it, answers. My mind was full of worry, doubt, and confusion. All I could do the whole journey was contemplate the unusual events from the past week. "What is happening?" I asked myself far to often. "Things have always been so normal; as long as I've been in the union we've never had a serious problem. So why now? Is it really nothing? Am I just over thinking everything? It could just be a little problem with a simple solution, but I can't help shake the feeling that things have changed for good, and it's only going to get worse from here on out."

I glanced over at Cyrus. His head leaned back against the window, sound asleep with his head buds in. Like always.

"But Cyrus is relaxed," I observed. I allowed a smile to surface, and I could feel a little light in my heart. "Maybe... even if things are about to get bad, I can rely on Cyrus." The light slipped away as quickly as it came, "I just hope I have the power to protect those I love. If I can do that, I can make it through everything else."

My eyes traveled from Cyrus's sleeping eyes down to the pendant around his neck. I then looked at my own pendant around my wrist. "All a part of a set of three." I said, suddenly saddened. "Jaffar, what would you do..."

The Rookie awoke to the rain on his visor. He leap to his feet, panicked. Glancing to his left and right he saw that the Commander and Simmons were still here. Did Holland fall asleep on post and forget to wake him up?

Holland.

The Rookie sprinted up the rocks up to the cliff side where they were keeping post at. As he pulled himself up the last rock what he saw made him cringe.

In the sunlight of the breaking dawn, he could see blood on the ground. Drag marks went off the cliff. The Rookie walked slowly up to the edge of the cliff and looked toward the bottom.

No Body. He breathed a sigh of relief. "That means... he must have been taken," he thought to himself. He ran back down to the others and woke them up. And told them what he had seen.

Expectedly, Simmons started to panic. He began walking in circles, talking nonsense.

"W-what does this mean? Have they found us? A-a-are they going to come back and get us next?" He took a big gulp as he dropped to his hands and knees. "Oh, were going to die! I know it."

The Rookie had seen enough, "Simmons! Get a hold of yourself, if they were going to attack us they would have done it already."

He stood back up and looked at the rookie with painful eyes, "Y-you don't know that."

Commander Recks finally spoke up, "Both of you." Both of them went quiet and listened. "The lieutenant is correct, if they were going to attack us they would have already. It's probably a trap."

"But I don't think they went back to the base, it doesn't make sense to lure us there if we already planned on heading in that direction," The Rookie said gentle knocking on his helm, as if to help him think."

"Exactly," Recks replied. "But we can't all go recover him, we have a time limit; it's only a matter of time before their forces start to mobilize, we need to complete our primary objective."

The Rookie nodded, his arms now crossed. "I can go look for-"

"No," interrupted Recks. "I'll take care of that. You two go and scout out the base and wait for me to return. We will act then. It'll be much easier for me to recover Holland on my own."

The Rookie turned to Simmons, "Then we should waste no time, Simmons get on your feet we're going to head out now." Simmons slowly, weakly stood up. He turned his tint on, as if to hide himself.

Recks nodded to The Rookie, "Just get the job done." He turned and started heading for a cliffside, to find a way down to the bottom.

The Rookie looked at Simmons. He stared back at him.

"L-lets go," He said shakily, keyblade now at the ready. The Rookie forced a smile, and turned his tint on. "Let's get the hell over there and get this done. I want to get home and eat a warm meal damn it."

The two of them started off along the cliff, gaining morale as they ran.


End file.
